BEVERLY HILLS, Mich. – The Alma College men's lacrosse team kicked off their season against NAIA opponent University of Michigan-Dearborn on Friday, February 10th. The Scots handily beat the Wolverines by a final score of 12-4. Head Coach Casey Hogan tallied his first collegiate win at Alma as a result of the contest.

Alma opened up the scoring on a man-up advantage that led to a Byron Weber goal. Five minutes later, Anar Tumurbaatar found the net pushing the lead to two. Alma would go man-up shortly after Tumurbaatar's goal but would not score until 15 seconds after the penalty was released. Haden Johnson would add the tally this time around. The Scots would lead 3-0 at the end of the first quarter and goalie Thomas Burns collected a scoreless quarter to open the season. 

The second quarter proved to be a battle as UM-Dearborn found their footing and fought back against the Scots. Alma would add another goal from Tumurbaatar assisted by Weber. Late in the second, Ryan O'Loughlin would put on past the UM-Dearborn goalie to extend the lead to 5-0 before the Wolverines would score late in the second to prevent Burns from having another scoreless quarter. Alma led at the half 5-1.

In the third, the Wolverines would add two unanswered goals to bring the score to 5-3 heading into the final quarter. Alma would quiet the Wolverines down in the fourth and hold them to only one more goal for the evening. Weber and Johnson would get the first two goals of the final quarter, giving them multi-goal games. Aaron Zettel joined in on the action and recorded a goal. Tumurbaatar added three consecutive goals in the fourth to extend the Scots lead before Ezra Leppanen rounded out the scoring with a man-up goal that led to the final score of 12-4.

Coach Hogan had this to say about the game, "It was a great win for the boys. We have been preaching about building a good foundation via changes in the program's culture. Tonight was tangible proof of the progress that we have made. Plenty of work to still be done but tonight was a great first step."

The Scots will now turn their attention towards a trip to Ohio Northern University, who they face on Saturday, February 18th, at 1:00 PM. 

Stay up to date with the latest news, schedules, scores, recaps and more by downloading the official mobile app for Alma College Athletics. Search "Alma Scots Front Row" in the Apple App Store or on Google Play and download today for free.

Story Credit: Eli Pinter, Sports Information Intern